Leave the Leaves - by Meryl McKean

It’s been a great year for daffodils. I love the way they brighten the roadsides, popping up for a few weeks to surprise and delight the motorist. Grand displays herald spring in local parks and small bunches decorate our homes. They lift our spirits and mark a change of season.

What is not so great is the few weeks afterwards when the bright display is replaced by dead flowers and drooping leaves which gradually turn yellow. When that happens in my garden I find I want to move on, to get rid of the foliage. I’d really like something else of beauty to take its place. I tell myself not to be in such a rush. This stage is important, the dead flower can be removed but the leaves need to be left to die off naturally, until they are completely dry. If the leaves are removed too soon, the bulb is stopped from taking in important nutrients in preparation for next year’s blooms. If I don’t wait future growth is impacted. 

I realise I feel a little like this with my writing. I write alongside my day job and I have nothing substantial that I’m working on right now, just the occasional blog & devotional. I often have ideas for larger projects but feel that at the moment I need to wait. I’m okay with that most of the time. It needn’t be an inactive waiting, like the daffodil where there is plenty going on underground that we don’t see, waiting is an opportunity for development and learning. A time where I can try new things. Seasons are there for a reason. I remember when I lived abroad for a few years, we had one month where the most delicious cherries were available, followed by enormous succulent peaches . Each fruit and veg followed its short season and tasted so much better for it. In the UK we are used to constant availability, and as our lives tend towards busyness, we can also expect ourselves to be productive in every way all the time.

As we learn to move with the seasons in our writing, lets bring each season to God, ask him how to wait well, he will show us when we enter a change of season, inspire us in our fruitfulness and open doors for our work. What season of writing are you in?

Bio

Meryl McKean loves writing devotionals and poems and has had a few articles published over the years as well as using her writing in her work. Recently she was encouraged being placed 3rd in an ACW competition. She wants her writing to be a tool which helps others draw closer to God. She is married to Andy and lives in Bedford where she loves exploring the countryside with her camera in hand. Her day job as a member of her church staff leadership team is full of challenges and opportunities.